This past weekend, Miguel De La Mora continued Road Trip Radio with a message on Psalm 119. Miguel explained how simple it is to lose our rhythms with God (our rhythms of praying, attending, and serving) to distractions of doubt, worry, and discouragement. Without habit and determination, it’s too easy to stay “off-beat” and have an infrequent connection with God. 

 

Like any relationship, our relationship with God needs intentionality; it’s not a relationship that will grow or flourish if left on its own. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” When we don’t look for God, we won’t find Him. We’re told to seek Him with all of our hearts. When we search, pursue, and long for Him, we’ll find Him; and the best way to feed our relationship with God is through personal routine and daily habit. 

 

Some of us attend church twice a year, only pray on Christmas, and haven’t read scripture outside of the occasional verses on our Facebook feeds. To find a rhythm with God, though, we need to pursue Him regularly–daily time in prayer and scripture, regular church attendance, and jumping in and serving more often than not with other believers. By doing those things, we’re building our “spiritual muscle,” and like a normal muscle, if we fail to work it, it shrinks. 

 

For many of us, our number one distraction in pursuing God and getting “on beat” with Him is our schedules. We’re all extremely busy day in and day out, and we can’t imagine carving out one minute to pray, let alone getting up, attending church, then serving. But what are we told to do? In Psalm 119:36, it says, “Turn my heart toward Your statutes and not towards selfish gain.” If we have time for everything else but God, something in our lives is out of balance. 

 

Our lives should revolve around God instead of us trying to fit Him into the tiny cracks here and there. Our first priority should be our relationship with Him–everything else can stem from that. If we want to feel the true benefits of what He offers, if we want to feel the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control), then we need to pursue Him whole-heartedly and get in rhythm–and stay in rhythm–with Him.

 

It’s not always going to be fun or easy. It can be hard to get up Sunday mornings, give up TV time to serve, or stay awake ten minutes later to read a devotional, but it’s also something that won’t be regretted. Very rarely, if ever, does someone say, “I wish I hadn’t gone to church today” or “I wish I hadn’t served” or “I wish I hadn’t prayed.” There might be a personal sacrifice on the front end, but the gains will always outweigh what was given up. 

 

This week, let’s start getting on beat. Let’s read a chapter of scripture and pray every night. Let’s make plans to attend or watch a service on Sunday. Let’s send a text or make a call and see where we can plug in and serve at least once this month. God knows we can spiritually thrive through Him; are we ready to start taking steps to do so?